Located just off the mile 300 post on the world-famous Alaska Highway the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum takes its theme from the road with many of its featured exhibits having been involved in some way with that storied route. Its scope is not limited to that, but I would imagine they have many vehicles unlikely to be seen anywhere else. I managed a whirlwind visit on this summer’s trip to northern British Columbia.
Like a lot of these places the museum came about due to one man’s collection and passion. In this case it was Marl Brown, a mechanic for the Canadian Army, who collected items that others tossed away. The museum finally opened in 1987 after a decade of planning and community fund raising. Marl remained involved until his passing last year (2021).
On the grounds there were several old buildings and structures with assorted vehicles nestled around them.
Many of the outdoor vehicles definitely had a construction or industrial flavor to them. Many were reputed to have helped build or maintain the Alaska highway.
There were several Canadian market vehicles including this Mercury badged M600 truck.
Upping the Canadian content even further there was even an ice resurfacer. This one is even the most well-known brand, Zamboni, which was actually developed by an American.
Here is a quick look at the controls which look to be intimidatingly complex for the uninitiated.
There were several of these Flex-Track tracked vehicles built for traversing rough terrain.
There was plenty of rather random items like this cement crayon.
More heavy equipment.
A big cab over engine Mercury with a tow bar.
A selected number of vehicles were mostly out of the weather in a semi open shed. This 1942 Ford 1500 WT is a so-called Canadian Military Pattern vehicle or CMP with both Chevrolet and Ford using the same cab with their own mechanical bits. This one sports a Ford flat head V8 engine. We will have to do a deep dive into these one day but after the war these were utilized for various tasks including during the construction of the highway.
A big 1946 International KS6 truck …
… with its Alaska Highway logo still intact.
An unexpected find in this 1952 Ford/Thames E83W pickup truck.
It was also a member of the NWHS (Northwest Highway System), but it is hard to know in what capacity it would have been used.
Speaking of capacity here is a real big block engine with 16 cylinders, 15 1/2″ bore, 22″ stroke making a massive 4210hp @ 327 rpm. This particular Cooper-Bessemer engine was used to driver generators for Fort Nelson’s power needs. According to the sign there are still five of these engines in place ready to provide stand by power presumably in an emergency.
Nearby stood a crank and camshaft from the same or similar engine.
Like any good museum they had a back lot some of which was not accessible to the public, but I was able to get this shot through the fence.
There were a few back lot type vehicles accessible nearby however including this mystery vintage car. Any thoughts on its identity?
A solid looking Packard sedan was sitting in a wooded area.
A Sno-cat machine once owned by CN rail.
There was also an indoor collection with many treasures.
A 1951 British Ford Prefect sedan was presented in very nice condition. Like a few vehicles in the building, it did not really fit with the theme of the place but left-hand drive one in such nice shape is a rare find.
More on point was this heavy duty 1927 Graham Brothers truck.
A selection of vintages cars including this 1928 Durant M2 Star with a 152cid four cylinder engine making 35hp.
This 1908 McLaughlin Buick Model 10 drove from Ford Nelson, BC to White Horse, Yukon and back in 2008. That is about 1900 kms or 1180 miles. The trip was done by Marl Brown (founder of museum) with Bill McLeod and Mavis Brown. McLaughlin Buick was a Buick design built in Canada. These early ones are right hand drive. This would have been an epic journey but there was no further information on it that I could see in my limited time here.
A homemade motorcycle dubbed a Hardly Davidson. It is a joke nickname that I have seen more than once but is still amusing each time. Someone managed to register this for road use in 1969.
A Bullet nose Studebaker with an interesting headlight treatment sits next to a Ford pickup truck.
Here is another interesting motorbike. Notice anything unusual? That is chain on the front but that is not all …
Yes, its a three wheel drive motorcycle! This Yellow Trail Partner was built in Prince George in late 1950s and early 1960s. Up to 300 of these rugged machines were built for off road use.
In addition to the vehicles there were smaller displays of interesting objects including these outboard motors. Due to my wife waiting for me I did not get a good chance to explore this part of the museum at any level of detail. I may have told her I would only pop across the road for a couple of minutes and been quite a bit longer.
Back outside there were several equipment creations like the lawn mower based racer.
As well as a rather distinctive 1927 Chevrolet vintage bus. No lack of headroom in this one.
This 1942 cab over engine Dodge truck has to be quite rare anywhere. Much like a lot of museum contents it is rather unique, rugged and a product of its environment. That concludes our whirlwind tour. If you ever find yourself up north the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum is well worth a visit.
what a great place. If I had it my way my property would resemble this.
The Sno Cat looks ready to go
The snow cats with the Dodge L700 cabs are neat. Never seen those before. Also that cab over Dodge probably is pretty rare I have only seen one other cab over of that generation before.
I believe those Dodge cab Flex Tracks might have been made in Calgary, AB. There was a company that did all sort of conversions like that for years. Information like that is very hard to track down however.
Reminds me a little of Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska. Lot’s of random wheeled stuff with motors attached. Some with rust, some with dust. All with entertainment.
I love places like this; my kind of museum. It reminds me of America’s Miracle Museum up in Poulson, Montana, which had a huge collection of snow cats, many homebuilt, and also outboard motors and vintage snowmobiles. Fortunately Stephanie is quite happy to poke around these kinds of places with me.
Funny you mention that one. I managed to go there this summer as well. The America’s Miracle Museum is definitely one of my favorite places I’ve visited.
Interesting stuff! I think that the rusty old touring car (the “mystery vintage car” right before the black Packard) is a 1928 Chevrolet – the last year before the new stovebolt six.
That does look to be a match. Nicely done.
Almost like a Curbside Classic theme park. A great find David! I wonder if they employ an archivist, perhaps with funding from the BC government, photographing, and documenting, all these historical treasures. Some very rare and unique items here. Mr. Brown had good taste in saving items worth preserving.
Ronald,
“Some with rust, some with dust. All with entertainment.”
I visited the Pioneer Village in the 1970s and ’80s, and your short description is very accurate! Your words helped make my day.
Kudos to Marl Brown and his cohort.
To spend the final years of one’s life putting together this amazing collection and watch it grow must [in my opinion] be one of the finest ways to spend a retirement.
OK – don’t laugh – but this city slicker is a bit unfamiliar with exactly how one uses a cement crayon that looks to weigh more than a car?
And how does one sharpen it?
We have one museum here in Ontario, that reminds me some of this collection. The Tackaberry Museum, near Athens, Ontario, has a meandering private road, with mostly vintage/antique International trucks and tractors. In their original, unrestored state. Documented here:
What a passionate collection of local, and Canadian history. The road trip in the McLaughlin-Buick must have been very memorable. Hopefully, you’ll have a chance to return again, for a more thorough exploration.
The Studebaker’s ‘face’, reminds me of Dangerfield.
That is does!
I had to check where Fort Nelson is, that’s pretty far up there!
What a fabulous collection of working vehicles, and that NWHS logo would make a good toolbox sticker or Tshirt.
I wonder how many beers had been consumed by the point someone said “ya know, what we really need around here is a giant concrete pencil !”
Yup – we did the Northern BC Circle route. We touched into Yukon at Watson Lake.
Great find! I also like smaller museums in more remote locations. They always seem to be hiding something that I have heard of but never seen in person. My last experience like that was seeing a fully functioning Linotype machine in operation. Being able to ask the operator all my annoying questions and receiving full unhurried explanations makes for a memorable experience.
Compared to the concrete crayon, this large pencil, at the White Pines Logging Museum in Arnold, California seems quite practical.
That is pretty neat. A lot more detailed than the crayon which I assume was just something re-purposed and painted.
Also yellow, but mostly steel, same museum as the pencil.
Also yellow, but mostly steel, same museum as the pencil.
Wow, what a collection. Lots of good stuff there, but I’m especially smitten by the vehicle in the teaser, a Dodge van cab, perhaps the ultra rare dodge van pickup cab, on a tracked chassis. But on closer inspection it might just be easier to do than it would look, depending on the chassis.
Still, great stuff, thanks!
There was two of them. Both were the rare pickup based I believe. Here is a side shot of one of them. They could only be more rare if they were Fargo badged.
Wow would I love walking around that place! I wonder what kind of fuel and how that 4210 hp engine would sound when running. I should do that math to figure out the CID,
Wow ~ I wish I could go there and spend a day just soaking it all in .
-Nate
The random collection reminds me of both the Camp 18 restaurant and the Collier State Park collections in Oregon although both are almost entirely logging focused.
The Flex Tracks use the old Dodge tilt cab that spent most of its history on Spanish trucks after Dodge left that market in North America.
I was a little surprised at the the Cooper Bessemer diesel, most of those were used in marine applications like the Barnegat class seaplane tenders that spent the 0s and 60s as Coast Guard cutters. They were used as generators, since the ships they were installed used diesel electric drive.